When the traveller arrives in Semarang, they encounter Java’s usual tropes: plenty of traffic, remnants of a colonial past – Dutch, in this case – and the general comings and goings of a busy port town. A place as pretty as Kampung Pelangi doesn’t enter their thoughts.
After all, Semarang is Indonesia’s seventh most populous city and no shrinking violet. It throbs in the same manner as a ventricle. The low-end drone of more-or-less constant traffic rarely abates. A seeker of solitude should probably avoid the city.
Read more: Welcome to Sumenep, the soul of Madura.
It’s a surprise, then, to stumble across Kampung Pelangi. A small village close to Lewang Sewu – a former railway headquarters replete with wartime ghosts – it shines like a beacon amidst the city’s thrumming chaos. The premise is simple: a roadside locale, in a bid to promote well-being and create a colourful outlook, has a bit of a clean-up. One life-affirmingly positive lick of paint later and voila: a spick and span Rainbow Village.
This is no haven or bubble within which the secret of life itself resides. Instead, Kampung’s magic lies in an agreeable ambience. At one end of the village lies a tent and its attendant callisthenics classes. At the other, craftsmen create their wares well into the night. Colourful murals complete a vibrant scene. The air crackles with the pulse of creativity. Such is the warm welcome of Kampung Pelangi.
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